FTSE 100 Steady, Tracks Global Gains
June 24 2022 - 4:31AM
Dow Jones News
FTSE 100 Recovers as it Tracks Gains in Asia, US
0757 GMT - The FTSE 100 rises 0.5% to 7057 points after losses
in the previous session as the index tracks gains in Asia and Wall
Street overnight. "Fluctuating sentiment is again in evidence, with
investors reacting with some temporary relief to the absence of any
new concerns," Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter writes.
The FTSE 100 could eke out a gain for the week, although it remains
down by 4.6% in the year to date, with lower commodity prices
having weighed on the index, he says. Meanwhile, data on Friday
showed U.K. retail sales fell 0.5% on month in May after a
downwardly revised 0.4% increase in April amid a cost of living
crisis. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
Companies News:
Barclays to Buy Kensington Mortgage Co., Portfolio for Around
$2.8 Bln
Barclays PLC said Friday that it has agreed to acquire
Kensington Mortgage Co. and a related portfolio of U.K. mortgages
for around 2.3 billion pounds ($2.82 billion).
---
Ferguson Launches GBP375 Mln Share Buyback
Ferguson PLC said Friday that it is starting a share buyback of
375 million pounds ($459.8 million) in continuation of its $2
billion repurchase program.
---
Lamprell Says Blofeld Takeover Offer Is at a Significant
Discount
Lamprell PLC said Friday that it considers the takeover cash
offer from Blofeld Investment Management to be at a significant
discount to the prevailing share price and so far no agreement has
been reached.
---
RPS Group Says Five-Month Performance Was Better Than
Expected
RPS Group PLC said Friday that its performance in the first five
months of the year was better than expected.
---
Greencoat Renewables Agrees to Buy 134MW Swedish Wind Farm --
Deal Digest
ACQUIRER: Greencoat Renewables PLC, a renewable-infrastructure
company.
---
Trackwise Designs Sees 2022 Sales Below Market Views on Lower
Demand
Trackwise Designs PLC said Friday that sales for 2022 are
expected to be below market views due to reduced customer
demand.
---
Foresight Sustainable Forestry Raises GBP45 Mln Via Equity
Issue
Foresight Sustainable Forestry Co. said Friday that it has
raised 45 million pounds ($55.2 million) via share issue to acquire
further assets.
---
Essentra to Sell Packaging Businesses for GBP312 Mln
Essentra PLC said Friday that it will sell its packaging
businesses ESNT Packaging & Securing Solutions Ltd. and
Essentra Packaging US Inc. for 312 million pounds ($382.5 million)
in cash.
---
Southern Energy Completes Expanded Share Placing, Raises $31.0
Mln
Southern Energy Corp. said Friday that it has completed an
increased placing of shares in the U.K., bringing the size of its
total offering to $31.0 million from $30.0 million.
---
Ultra Electronics Takeover by Advent's Cobham Moves Closer to UK
Government Approval
Ultra Electronics Holdings PLC said Friday that it has noted the
U.K. government is minded to accept the undertakings proposed by
Advent International Corp.'s Cobham Group Holdings Ltd. to allow
its takeover of Ultra.
---
LSL Property Services to Extend Share Buyback for Three
Months
LSL Property Services PLC said Friday that it will extend its 10
million pound ($12.3 million) share-buyback program for an
additional three months, from the end of June to the end of
September.
---
Lamprell Shares Fall on Liquidity Constraints Warning
Shares in Lamprell PLC fell Friday after the company said that
it is looking for a solution to meet its immediate funding
obligations of $75 million in June and July as it continues to be
affected by low-margin projects and insufficient revenue
levels.
---
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Cuts Top End of Production Guidance
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. on Friday narrowed its 2022
production guidance toward the lower end of the range.
Market Talk:
Fiscal Stimulus Might Support UK Retail Sales in 2H
0756 GMT - The extra package of measures to support U.K.
households brightens the outlook for retail sales in the second
half of the year, as these grants should ensure that real
disposable incomes recover slightly in the third quarter, Pantheon
Macroeconomics chief U.K. economist Samuel Tombs says in a note.
However, there is increasing evidence that British households
aren't using their excess savings from the pandemic to keep
spending, so consumers real expenditure will rise only sluggishly
in the second half, he says. "We expect retail sales volumes in 4Q
to be only about 1% higher than in 2Q," Tombs says.
(xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com)
---
Sterling Shrugs Off Weaker UK Retail Sales Data
0715 GMT - Sterling shows little reaction after official data
showed U.K. retail sales fell in May. Retail sales fell 0.5%
month-on-month in May, compared to the 0.7% decline expected by
economists in a WSJ survey. April's data was revised lower to show
0.4% growth versus the 1.4% rise previously reported. The data
confirm the bleak outlook facing the U.K. economy as the impact of
rising prices takes its toll on consumers, Silicon Valley Bank's
Sam Cooper writes. "The drop in sales comes as no surprise to FX
markets and this is reflected in the GBP/USD rate, with sterling
largely unmoved on the release." GBP/USD trades at 1.2275 and
EUR/GBP is at 0.8590, both little changed after the data.
(renae.dyer@wsj.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 24, 2022 04:16 ET (08:16 GMT)
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